AEA

Despite founding Audio Engineering Associates(AEA) around forty years ago and embarking on a variety of audio projects (in some cases standing as an expert audio witness in LA courtrooms), Wes Dooley is now mostly associated with Ribbon Microphones.

His long history with ribbon mics began with him representing Coles in the USA, where he became intimately involved with the microphone and became the main service centre i...Read More

Despite founding Audio Engineering Associates(AEA) around forty years ago and embarking on a variety of audio projects (in some cases standing as an expert audio witness in LA courtrooms), Wes Dooley is now mostly associated with Ribbon Microphones.

His long history with ribbon mics began with him representing Coles in the USA, where he became intimately involved with the microphone and became the main service centre in North America.

In 1998, aware that the classic RCA R44 were becoming thin on the ground, Wes created his own version, which met with immediate critical acclaim and used by some high profile names including Les Paul and Bruce Swedien.

In addition to their R44, AEA now have a comprehensive line of ribbon mics, from their R84 to their flagship A440 phantom powered ribbon. The range also boasts the KU4 a rare, but very popular, super-cardioid ribbon mic.

Everything AEA produce is imbued with the passion Wes has for audio technology, and the brand has been further augmented by some high quality mic preamps, designed specifically for the high-gain needs of ribbons. These include The Ribbon Pre (TRP) as well as the RPQ which boasts a superb EQ circuit, which is, once again, designed with ribbon mics in mind. The 500-Series format is catered for with their AEA RPQ500.

A beautiful range of ribbon microphones and pre-amps which deserve to grace all modern recording studios.